Local news matters: CBC to hire more journalists, launch new platforms

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I want to update you on a number of important initiatives underway to build CBC News service and connection in small communities — including a significant expansion of local journalism in underserved markets. 

CBC News currently operates in 48 local stations and bureaus from coast to coast to coast. It's an impressive list that reflects our very real commitment to local service. 

But we serve a huge country spread across six time zones. There are more than 30 towns and cities in Canada with populations greater than 50,000 that have no CBC presence. At the same time, local news and local journalism are endangered species, especially in smaller communities, as private media retreat under financial duress. (According to the Local News Research Project, a total of 526 local news outlets closed in 347 communities across Canada between 2008 and the end of 2024.)

We know that trust and connection with the CBC is built first and foremost in communities, through local service. We have worked hard over the last several years to expand our "proximity" to communities through boots-on-the-ground reporting, community outreach, temporary community bureaus and the expansion of local digital services, all while operating within limited budgets.

The recent official exemption of Google from the Online News Act will see Canadian news publishers get $100 million a year from the company for the next five years, indexed to inflation. CBC/Radio-Canada's portion of this fund is capped at seven per cent, split equally between the French- and English-language service. As we announced in this press release, CBC will dedicate the new funding to the hiring of local journalists in underserved communities, with a focus on Western Canada.

Today, we are pleased to announce the locations in which these journalists will be based, in one- or two-person bureaus. Jobs will be posted in the coming weeks on the CBC job board:

• Fraser Valley (B.C.): A bureau serving the communities of Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Mission.

• North Island (B.C.): Expanding our bureau in Nanaimo to enhance coverage of communities north of the town, including Courtenay, Comox and Campbell River, as well as extending south to Duncan.

• Interior East (B.C.): A bureau in Salmon Arm, working closely with our existing teams in Kelowna and Kamloops to cover municipalities such as Armstrong, Vernon, Sicamous, Revelstoke and Enderby.

• Peace Region (B.C.): A bureau in Fort St. John, covering surrounding areas including Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge, Hudson's Hope and Mackenzie.

• Penticton (B.C.): A bureau in Penticton will work closely with our Kelowna bureau, covering the southern Okanagan region, including Osoyoos and Summerland.

• Sea to Sky (B.C.): A bureau in Squamish to cover the rapidly growing Sea to Sky corridor, including Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton and the Sunshine Coast. 

• North: A new reporter based in Yellowknife whose job will be to travel to underserved communities in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, including places like Old Crow, Sachs Harbour and Grise Fiord. 

• Red Deer (Alberta): A bureau in Red Deer to cover Alberta's third-largest city and surrounding central Alberta communities, such as Sylvan Lake and Lacombe. 

• Lethbridge (Alberta): Expanding our Lethbridge bureau to cover communities in southern Alberta, such as Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek and the Crowsnest Pass.

• Fort McMurray (Alberta): Expanding our bureau in Fort McMurray, a key hub in Canada's energy industry in northeastern Alberta.

• Hinton/Jasper (Alberta): Making our temporary bureau permanent to cover the national park and the northern Rockies, as well as nearby communities, including Grande Cache and Edson.

• Medicine Hat (Alberta): A bureau to cover Alberta's fifth-largest city plus the surrounding First Nations and smaller communities, such as Brooks, Taber and Bow Island, as well as the region's thriving agricultural industries.

• Banff (Alberta): A bureau to cover the Bow Valley and the national park, including Canmore, Lake Louise and Kananaskis.

• Prince Albert (Saskatchewan): A bureau to re-establish CBC News in Prince Albert, covering the fast-growing region and surrounding First Nations communities. The bureau would cover Prince Albert, Waskesiu and the Prince Albert National Park area, Emma Lake, Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and La Ronge, and surrounding First Nations communities Beardy's and Okemasis Cree Nation, Sturgeon Lake First Nation, Wahpeton Dakota Nation and James Smith Cree Nation.

• Steinbach/Hanover (Manitoba): A bureau to cover the third-largest city in Manitoba. The communities southeast of Winnipeg are the fastest-growing area of Manitoba and include the neighbouring communities of Niverville, Ste. Anne and the wider municipalities of Hanover, Ritchot Springfield, Emerson, Morris, La Broquerie, Tache, De Salaberry and Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation.

• Lloydminster / Battlefords (Alberta / Saskatchewan): A bureau to cover these two communities in eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan, and providing coverage of communities north to Cold Lake and Meadow Lake, including Onion Lake Cree Nation, Thunderchild First Nation, Red Pheasant Cree Nation, Sweetgrass First Nation, Little Pine First Nation and Poundmaker First Nation.

• Oshawa (Ontario): A bureau to cover the city and allow more coverage of communities south of Lake Simcoe and along Highway 401.

• Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario): A bureau to cover the city and surrounding area, working in collaboration with our station in Sudbury.

• St. Catharines (Ontario): A bureau to cover the city and the wider Niagara Region, including communities such as Niagara Falls, Welland, Thorold, Fort Erie and Port Colborne.

• Off-Island Montreal, the Laurentians and Lanaudière (Quebec): Travelling journalists who will cover stories in the area spanning from Hudson and Saint-Lazare through to Mont-Tremblant and Rawdon.

• Northern New Brunswick: A travelling journalist to cover stories from across the north of the province, including Madawaska and the Northwest, Restigouche, Bathurst and the Acadian Peninsula and Miramichi.

• Cumberland and Colchester Counties (Nova Scotia): A travelling journalist based in these growing counties to cover stories and communities from Amherst to Truro.

Streaming channels 

At the same time, we are working very hard to get our journalism in the places Canadians consume news and information today. In the fall, we launched 12 new local news streaming channels, growing to 14 the total number of local streams. Joining CBC News BC and CBC News Toronto are CBC News Nova Scotia, CBC News Quebec, CBC News Manitoba, CBC News NL, CBC News Ottawa, CBC News Calgary, CBC News Edmonton, CBC News PEI, CBC News New Brunswick, CBC News Windsor, CBC News North and CBC News Saskatchewan. These new local channels are available on CBC Gem, the CBC News app and this month will appear on more connected TV services like Samsung TV Plus and the Roku Channel.

Check them out in the "Live TV" video shelf on Gem: https://gem.cbc.ca/

Hyperlocal podcasts

In recent months, we launched four new hyperlocal daily podcasts: This Is Nova Scotia, This Is Vancouver, This Is Toronto and This Is Manitoba. These podcasts expand our local audio slate to a total of 11 serving 11 communities.

You can find them on CBC Listen or anywhere you get podcasts.

Make the Season Kind

CBC's Make the Season Kind campaign, featuring fundraising drives for local food banks across Canada, raised $7.8 million in December.

Since 2015, these drives have collectively raised nearly $60 million for food banks and other charities. 

Local on the CBC News app

Finally, a reminder that you can access all of our local news, local push alerts and live streams of your local CBC Radio One station on the CBC News app, which you can download for free.